


“how have you lived this long?”

by notjasper



Category: Rust (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: FUCK I FORGOT TO ADD TAGS IM SO DUMB, Feral TommyInnit (Video Blogging RFP), Found Family, Gen, Guns, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, TommyInnit Has PTSD (Video Blogging RPF), Wilderness Survival, as he should 💅, rust!! :D, the D O M E, tommy is only alive to spite god, tommy’s an angsty lil shit, tw, wilbur sees tommy in the woods and goes “lol mine now”
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29245350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjasper/pseuds/notjasper
Summary: in which Wilbur meets a strange child in the wilderness, and decides to adopt him.-rip sleepy bois rust :’(((
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 14
Kudos: 227





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> unfortunately the sbi rust server was shut down recently due to inactivity + an update which wiped the entire server of its data :(
> 
> posting this because even if the server’s gone i still have brainrot for it

It was the middle of a hot, sunny day, and Wilbur was absolutely fed up with it. His loose t-shirt clung to his sweaty skin as he painstakingly gathered up stone for the new church. Once he’d finally collected all he could from the small rock pile, he looked up and wiped his hair out of his eyes. 

The scenery around him really was beautiful. The rolling mountains, lush forests, clear blue skies, and the vaguely humanoid shape on a hill a few yards away made it truly a sight to behold.

_Wait._

Wilbur took a double take and realized his eyes weren’t deceiving him -- there, standing on a nearby hill, was a small blonde boy, holding a _fucking assault rifle_ aimed right at Wilbur’s chest. Wilbur raised his arms, signaling that he came in peace, before speaking to the mysterious boy.

“Hello?” he called. 

“I’ll shoot!” the boy yelled defensively. “Shut up and give me your things or I swear I’ll shoot!”

“Hey, I don’t mean any harm, man!” Wilbur answered. He knew the boy wasn’t going to shoot him. Sure, he had his finger ready on the trigger, but his arms were shaking and he’d most likely miss even if he did shoot. “Come down here, you’re the first new person I’ve seen in ages.”

The boy thought about his offer, and almost accepted, before he thought a bit longer. “Drop your weapons first. All of them.”

“Christ, okay. I wasn’t gonna attack you anyway; you’re, like, eleven.” Wilbur placed his handgun and axe on the ground next to him. 

“I’m fourteen, smartass,” the kid spat angrily as he lowered his gun and started towards Wilbur. Once he got closer, Will could see that he sported a long-sleeve layered shirt and long pants even in the sweltering heat. His skin was littered in radiation burns and shone with sweat. His tattered sneakers and messy hair really pulled together the whole ‘post-apocalyptic self-sufficient orphan kid’ look, although Wilbur suspected it wasn’t just a look.

Once he was close enough, Wilbur asked, “So, what’s your name, kid? I’m Wilbur.”

“And why should I tell you my name? It’s not like I’ll ever see you again,” the kid said defiantly. 

Wilbur raised an eyebrow. “This land’s not that big, kid. I guarantee we’ll meet again eventually, so it’s best for both of us to be on good terms. I don’t need any more enemies, although I doubt you could do much, considering..” Wilbur gestured at the boy’s unkempt form, “.. all _that.”_

“What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?” the boy yelled. “Do you want my name or not, man, because I am more than capable of shooting you dead right now!”

“Fine, fine, you’re right! I shouldn’t have said that. I really do want to know more about you, though, and preferably not with a gun pointed at me.”

The boy lowered his gun. _He really wouldn’t do well out here if I didn’t actually want to help him,_ Wilbur thought. _He trusts people too easily._

“My name’s Tommy,” the boy -- Tommy, apparently -- said. 

“Alright, _Tommy._ Forgive me, but you’re looking a bit worse for wear. Do you have a house or a camp or something?” Wilbur asked, concerned. He’d never seen anyone so young out here, especially someone Tommy's age on their own.

“Uh, I’ve got this,” Tommy pointed at a small rucksack on his back. 

“So no camp?”

“Nope.”

“Family?”

“..Nope.”

“Holy shit, kid, how have you lived this long?”

“Dunno. Spite, probably.”

Wilbur already liked this kid.


	2. Chapter 2

“So, you just refuse to die?”

“I guess.”

“That is..”  
“That is not at all how life is supposed to work.”

Wilbur and Tommy were sat around a small campfire Wilbur had set up inside the Dome, bundled up in heavy coats and sweaters to ward off the chill of the night. Even after the oppressive heat of the midafternoon, the nights here were still freezing and equally as unbearable. A small chicken Tommy had shot cooked above the campfire. Unfortunately, night had fallen too quickly and the duo wasn’t able to make it back to the church in time. Instead, they chose to camp out at the Dome. 

Oh yeah. They were a duo now, apparently.

Ever since Wilbur had first seen Tommy on the hill so many hours earlier, he knew three things:

One, that Tommy was scared. Even now, he looked scared. The subtle expressions of fear and distrust never left his eyes nor his actions in the few hours they had been together. Being on your own for god knows how long will do that to you.

Two, that Tommy hadn’t had a proper meal in a long, long time. His ragged clothes, which should typically fit somebody of his age, hung loose and baggy around his emaciated frame. Wilbur could see that he was practically salivating over the smell of the cooking chicken.

Three, that Wilbur had an unexplainable urge to help Tommy. He didn’t know quite why he felt so drawn to him. Maybe Wilbur saw a bit of himself in the kid. He’d grown up scared and hungry as well, and now that he had the resources to help somebody in his same situation, it simply felt wrong not to.

“Well, it’s worked fine for me,” Tommy said in between ravenous bites of poultry. “It’s been, what, five years now? And I’ve yet to die out here.”

“You’ve been alone for _five fucking years?”_ Wilbur asked incredulously. This kid never ceased to surprise him. 

“Far as I know, yep.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Wilbur began timidly, “what happened to your family?” He knew to tread lightly on subjects like this. He didn’t like to talk about what led him to this place, and neither did any of the other children of the Dome. 

Fortunately, Tommy took no offense to his inquiry. “Dead. Shot down by helicopters, all of them. I guess I was small enough not to be seen. Awful night, that was.”

He was extremely blunt with his answers. Wilbur suspected underlying trauma.

“Damn,” was all the older man said. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself, at least for now.

“Yeah. This place kinda sucks ass, honestly.”

“It gets better as you get older.”

“Does it?”

Silence hung heavy in the air for the next few minutes, neither wanting to say what they both unfortunately knew to be true already: _it never actually gets better out here, you’re just desensitized._

Wilbur realized it had gotten very late. The half-moon was clearly visible overhead through the Dome, meaning it was around midnight already. They still had a ways to go until they would get to the new church, so it would be wise to go to sleep now and wake up early in the morning.

“We should sleep,” Wilbur said quietly, finally breaking the fragile quiet of the woodland night. He saw Tommy give a shallow nod and shuffled deep into his makeshift sleeping bag. Wilbur did the same.

“Goodnight, Tommy.”

“Goodnight, Will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is gonna have some angst so if you like that then maybe stick around :eyes:

**Author's Note:**

> rip dome you will be missed o7


End file.
